CNN  

After the news of a U.S. soldier charged with murdering Afghan civilians, mostly women and children, the story of Spc. Dennis Weichel of the Rhode Island National Guard bears telling. The official Pentagon news release says he died "from injuries suffered in a noncombat related incident." But there is much more to the story. Weichel, 29, of Providence, died saving the life of a little girl.

According to the Rhode Island National Guard and the U.S. Army, Weichel was in a convoy a week ago with his unit in Laghman Province, in northeast Afghanistan. Some children were in the road in front of the convoy, and Weichel and other troops got out to move them out of the way.

Most of the children moved, but one little girl went back to pick up some brass shell casings in the road. Afghan civilians often recycle the casings, and the girl appeared to aim to do that. But a Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle was moving toward her, according to Lt. Col. Denis Riel of the Rhode Island National Guard.

MRAPs, as they are known, usually weigh more than 16 tons.

Weichel saw massive truck bearing down on the girl and grabbed her out of the way. But in the process, the armored truck ran him over, Riel said.

The little girl is fine. Weichel died a short time later of his injuries.

Read this story at edition.cnn.com ...  

Ranger's appeal hearing set -- 23 Apr in DC
a V-USA report
Tue, 27 Mar 2012
by:  Tom Kovach


The court-martial appeal for US Army Ranger 1LT Michael Behenna is set for Mon, 23 Apr, before the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF).  That is the highest appeal venue in the military justice system.  It is actually a civilian court, but has appellate jurisdiction over military cases.

The appeal was filed on 28 Feb, and thus the rapid appeal hearing date was a pleasant surprise to Behenna's family, which released the news this morning.  Strategically, the court's scheduling of oral arguments only two months after the appellate brief was filed forces the Army to meet a very tight deadline.  Court watchers interpret such moves as "a shot across the bow" that the court is taking the allegations of judicial misconduct very seriously.

Michael Behenna was charged with murder in the death of an Iraqi insurgent that had been questioned by Army Intelligence about a terrorist attack that had killed two men in the Ranger platoon that Behenna commanded.  The attack was done with a bomb buried in the middle of a road.  The explosion was so powerful that it threw a heavily-armored MRAP truck 25 feet into the air and flipped it over.  Behenna was in the convoy command vehicle, and saw it happen.

Against all standard protocols, after a two-week confinement for questioning, the Army interrogators assigned 1LT Behenna to lead the convoy to deliver the terrorist back to his home.  The route went past the scene of the attack.  Behenna stopped along the way to ask some questions of his own.  After the roadside conversation, Behenna momentarily turned away from the terrorist, who then leaped up from the culvert where he had been sitting and then attacked Behenna.  Reacting instinctively, the Ranger drew his sidearm and fired twice.  The first bullet struck the Iraqi in the chest, causing him to slump forward as he ran.  The terrorist literally fell into the path of the second bullet, which struck him on the top of the head.

The military lawyers claimed that Behenna had killed the terrorist "execution-style".  But, a forensic scientist (with approximately 40 years of crime-scene experience) told the prosecutors that the evidence -- gunshot residue, burn patterns, blood spatter, etc. -- all matched Behenna's testimony that the shooting was in self-defense.  Rather than put that information on the witness stand, the prosecutors suddenly withdrew their expert witness from the list before he could testify.

More than two years ago, this author conducted a two-hour telephone interview with Dr. Herb MacDonell (pronounced:  MAC do-NELL), who expressed his anger and frustration about the Army prosecutors' misconduct.  He was so irritated with the prosecutors that he went to the defense attorney on his own, immediately after having been dismissed as a witness, and told the defense about his expert analysis of the evidence.  The defense moved for dismissal, but it was denied, and then Behenna was convicted of murder.  The Ranger was sentenced to 25 years of confinement at Fort Leavenworth.  The sentence was later reduced to 15 years at a clemency hearing.  Michael has been in confinement for almost three years.

The appeal documents what Behenna and his family claim are several improprieties regarding the trial proceedings.  Among the major issues is the assertion that the Army's prosecution team violated centuries-old legal procedure by suppressing exculpatory information.  ("Exculpatory" means information that could prove the innocence of the accused.  In the event that a prosecutor discovers exculpatory information, and also discovers that the defense is not aware of this information, then the prosecutor is required to reveal it to the defense.)  The trial judge ignored the defense argument of "failure to disclose", and allowed the trial to continue.  The panel (military equivalent of a jury) was not allowed to hear the evidence that supported Behenna's testimony that he had fired in self-defense.

Questions have also been raised about why the Army assigned Behenna and his men to transport the terrorist that they knew had killed one of their own.  Such a decision was a virtual guarantee of allegations of impropriety.  Even if the terrorist had not been killed enroute to his home, it is possible that he could've later staged an assault (by having an accomplice rough him up a bit), and then claim that Behenna and/or his men were the perpetrators.  Why would the interrogators put not only Behenna, but also the United States government, at risk of liability for such false charges?  Although the family has raised this procedural question (Michael's mother is a Federal prosecutor, and his father is an intelligence analyst), it is not part of the appeal.

In addition to questioning the suppression of exculpatory evidence, the appeal also questions whether the military judge's erroneous instruction limiting the right to self-defense deprived Appellant of his constitutional right to a fair trial.

Each side will have 20 minutes to present oral arguments.  The hearing is scheduled for 0900 Local on Monday, 23 April 2012, at the courtroom in Judiciary Square in the federal courthouse at 450 E Street, N.W., Washington, D.C.  (The District of Columbia is in the Eastern time zone.)   A different military attorney is responding to the appeal, instead of the original prosecutor.  The hearing is open to the public, and the family hopes for a supportive presence.  The appellate brief, along with two amicus curiae briefs, can be read at this link.  As of this publication, the Army had not yet filed its response brief.

In addition to a legal fund, the family has started a "new start fund" in preparation for Michael putting his life back together after release from confinement.  Even if his name is officially cleared, the record of conviction, and the circumstances of the case, could be an impediment to certain types of employment.  To aid in fundraising, there is also a new song out on CD.  It is called "The Ballad of Michael Behenna".  People can contribute to either fund, and/or obtain the CD, by going to this page on the Defend Michael site.

NOTES:

1. 1LT Behenna's girlfriend has been a guest on an America's Summit conference call to discuss his case.
2. Although he has been officially stripped of his rank, V-USA steadfastly refuses to refer to Michael as a "former" first lieutenant.  And, "once a Ranger, always a Ranger".

Tom Kovach (rhymes with "watch") lives near Nashville, is a former USAF Blue Beret, and has written four books plus news reports and columns for several online publications. Tom is an inventor, a horse wrangler, a certified paralegal, and former network talk-radio host. He has also run for Congress, and is the national chairman of Veterans United to Save America (V-USA). To learn more about the author, click: www.TomKovach.US.

Beatrice Abrams Cohen, age 102, was honored in California ceremonies yesterday as the oldest living female American veteran.

She joined the Women's Army Corps (WACs) in 1943, after having worked as a "Rosie the riveter" in a Douglas Aircraft factory in California.  She trained at an Army base near Denver, and was then sent to Great Britain just in time for D-Day.

After her service during World War Two, "Bea" remained active in veterans' causes.  Even at her ceremony, she downplayed her own contributions, instead saluting the deeds of all women veterans -- past, present and future.

(To watch a short Pentagon video, click here.)

Marine Saves Man From Being Stabbed
by:  Cpl. Lucas Vega
Marine Forces Reserve

LANCASTER, Calif., March 20, 2012 – Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Joshua Escandon was going to lunch here with his wife Feb. 26 when his instincts kicked in because he heard a woman screaming for help.

He stepped out of his car and immediately knew something was not quite right. He scanned his surroundings and spotted a commotion involving a group of people. When Escandon heard a woman yelling, “They are going to kill him! Help him!” he knew he had to take action.

The radio operator with 3rd Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison Company ran toward the crowd, where he was blocked by onlookers from what appeared to be a fight.

“Everyone was watching, but nobody was helping,” said Escandon, who returned from a seven-month deployment to Afghanistan in December. “Like Marines look out for each other in combat, we have to protect our fellow man too and stop letting stuff like this happen, or it will just happen more.”

As he wove his way through the crowd, Escandon saw a man being kicked and punched by two others. One of the men was holding what appeared to be a sword, Escandon said. He later learned from the Lancaster Sheriff’s Department that the two men were gang-affiliated, and that their weapon was a cane-sword -- a cane that incorporates a concealed blade.

Escandon said he felt compelled to intervene and didn’t care if he was going to get hurt. He disarmed the aggressor with the cane-sword, while the man who was being beaten got to his feet and fought off the second aggressor. Escandon said he had one of the aggressors in a choke hold until he heard police sirens approaching. He let the man go, and the two aggressors fled. They were arrested later not far from the scene.

The lance corporal suffered only minor nicks and scratches on his hands. The attack victim had a cut above his eye that required stitches, as well as other minor cuts.

The police report said the two suspects were gang-affiliated brothers who were seeking retribution against owners of a store for banning them from the shop. Claiming that the suspects had threatened their lives, the store owners had called police that day. When the suspects returned, the situation escalated to a heated exchange of words, the sheriff’s report said.

A bystander carrying a cane-sword told the two men they needed to leave, police said, holding the sword portion of the cane behind his back so the suspects would not see it. But one of the suspects noticed the weapon and attacked the witness.

Escandon arrived shortly after one of the suspects grabbed the sword from the victim as the other was stomping on his head and torso and prevented the suspects from further injuring their victim, the report said.

Marine Corps Master Sgt. Yaphet Grimes, company communications chief and Escandon’s staff noncommissioned officer in charge, commended the lance corporal for his actions to break up the assault.

“He’s an outstanding and good-to-go Marine,” said Grimes, an 18-year veteran. “He’s always going to get the job done, and every time he performs the job, he’s going to give his 100 percent.”

hotair.com

We’re getting a lot of e-mail this weekend about an executive order issued on Friday afternoon by President Obama titled “National Defense Resources Preparedness.”  While the timing of the EO is curious — why send it out on a Friday afternoon when an administration is usually trying to sneak bad news past the media? — the general impact of it is negligible.  This EO simply updates another EO (12919) that had been in place since June 1994, and amended several times since...

Read this story at hotair.com ...

V-USA:  We're asking, so you can tell

a V-USA opinion exclusive
Sat, 17 Mar 2012
by:  Tom Kovach

The three-fold mission of Veterans United to Save America is:

To honor those who serve, or have served, in the United States military.

Together, to fulfill the lifelong duty associated with the sacred oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America.

To support qualified, principled, oath-keeping veterans for election to public office.

-------------------------------------------------------

Toward fulfillment of our mission, we condemn yesterday's statements by Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert, Chief of Naval Operations, regarding the repeal of the "don't ask, don't tell" policy toward homosexuals in the military.

The repeal, and his comments, dishonor our troops.

Admiral Greenert called the repeal a "non-story", and said that there has been "no uptick in conduct incidents" since the policy was liberalized late last year.  There was no mention of the national disgust over a recent picture of two male Marines kissing at a deployment homecoming.  (We refuse to show that picture on our site.)

In 1993, Bill Clinton instituted "don't ask, don't tell" under the banner of "equal rights" for homosexuals.  It has turned into "special privileges".  Prior to Clinton's disruption, homosexuality had been banned in our military since it's founding by George Washington.  (We do not use the word "gay" on V-USA, because there is nothing "gay" about homosexuality.  The word "gay" means happy, clean and wholesome.)  At that time, many conservative activists denounced "don't ask, don't tell" as the camel's nose under the tent flap.

The Left responded that we were being "reactionary", and touted that there was no such thing as a "slippery slope" with regard to the homsexual agenda -- which they also said did not exist.  (The term "slippery slope" became famous in political discourse with regard to the abortion argument.  After the "legal" slaughter of more than 50 million innocent, pre-born babies -- accompanied by the rapid advancement of the homosexual agenda -- I dare say that we are nearing the bottom of the slippery slope.)

So, what do we do?

Military veterans can unite, and we can say the things that our brothers-in-arms are prevented from saying.  We can ask, so that they can tell.  And, then, we can tell others for them.

This way, we work together to honor our oath.

Active-duty military members are under a much stricter standard regarding their ability to complain about national policies.  Currently, an active-duty Marine sergeant is under investigation for his founding of an "Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots" blog, on which he referred to [alleged] President Barack Obama as "the enemy".  (Well... isn't he??  The truth still matters!)  The investigation sends a chilling signal to those still wearing a uniform.  An even stronger example was made of Army flight surgeon LTC Terry Lakin, who was confined at Fort Leavenworth for six months and then discharged -- just short of his retirement.

So, V-USA is inviting those in uniform to report details of "conduct incidents" that involve homosexuals.  We are especially looking for incidents in which commanders turn a blind eye -- allowing homosexuals to break rules that are enforced against heterosexuals.  And, we are looking for specific details (and documentation) of rapes and sexual harassment by homosexuals against their fellow troops.  As a former Air Force law enforcement supervisor, I know that such incidents occur.  As the V-USA national chairman, I will make every legal effort to scrub identifying information from the stories before making them public.  We veterans know the risks that our active-duty brothers and sisters are under.  Why should the risk of military operations -- which can be risky even in non-combat situations -- be made even riskier by the inclusion of homosexual friction among the ranks?

So, "we ask, you tell".

America's voters need to know the real stories -- the ones that are being suppressed by overworked NCOs just trying to get by, promotion-happy junior officers, career-covering senior officers, and the myriad layers of Public Affairs scrubbers protecting the reputation of "The Department" from the political swamp slime of a truth-based debate.

V-USA is the military outreach arm of America's Party.  Our party has a saying:  "We are the media!"  Internet technology has enabled us to totally bypass the dinosaurs of Left-tilting newspapers.  So, their editors can no longer suppress our stories.  You provide the facts, and the supporting documentation, and then we'll provide the publicity.

And, as more people learn about "we ask, you tell", then we will gain membership.  (If you have not already joined V-USA, then be sure to click this link after you finish reading this column.)  There are more than 26 million military veterans in the United States of America.  Together, we can form a political force that even the sellouts in the Obama regime cannot stop.  But, we need you, and all of your buddies, ASAP.

---------------------------------------------------

Personal note:  Perhaps you're thinking, "Yeah, that guy can talk real tough.  But, what if they threaten his retirement?  Well, they can't, because I never got one.

One night, I was on patrol.  My partner and I caught the base commander supervising a group of people engaged in an illegal environmental-dumping incident.  I blew the whistle.  The commander tried to get rid of me.  I fought.  A process that should've taken about three weeks instead took him more than a year.  He did eventually boot me from the military.  But, I survived with my conscience and my reputation intact.  He got to retire, and then he illegally became a high-paid lobbyist less than six months later.  (Federal law requires a minimum one-year "cooling off" period.)  As it is written in the Holy Bible, he has his reward already....

My sixteen-plus years in uniform were not in vain, though.  And, now, as national chairman of V-USA, I can turn my knowledge of the UCMJ and my fighting spirit into your advocacy for truth and justice.

I need you to join V-USA, and to send in those stories.

Thank you.

Tom Kovach (rhymes with "watch") lives near Nashville, is a former USAF Blue Beret, and has written four books plus news reports and columns for several online publications. Tom is an inventor*, a horse wrangler, a certified paralegal, and former network talk-radio host. He has also run for Congress, and is the national chairman of Veterans United to Save America (V-USA). To learn more about the author, click: www.TomKovach.US.

(Tom invented the "Kovach Klip" military pistol-belt extender.)

Go here to see this outrage...we're not publishing it on V-USA.org.

Newsmax 

Veterans in Lake County, Fla., are incensed that local Democrats hoisted an American flag with President Obama’s image in place of the traditional stars over their headquarters. The veterans denounced the modified banner as “a disgrace,” reports Fox News. 

The veterans’ complaints finally prompted the Democrats to remove the flag from its perch under a customary American flag on the flagpole outside party headquarters in Tavares, Fla. 

Read this story at newsmax.com ... 

Marine investigated for calling Obama "the enemy"

a V-USA news and commentary exclusive
Wed, 14 Mar 2012
by:  Tom Kovach

An eight-year Marine has come under Pentagon investigation for referring to Barack Hussein Obama II as "the enemy", and posting on his Facebook page that he will not obey "unlawful orders" from Obama.

Sergeant Gary Stein is the founder of the Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots page on Facebook.  Since news of the investigation broke recently, his page now has more than 14,000 members.

Marine Corps officials are conducting an investigation to determine whether Sgt. Stein is in violation of Article 134 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).  Article 134 is the "general article", which covers unspecified acts deemed to be prejudicial to the good order and discipline of the military.  The charge is that Stein made "comments disloyal to the president of the United States".  Under the principles of law, one defense strategy would be to argue that Obama is not the president (because he is not eligible under the Constitution), and therefore negative comments about him are not subject to the UCMJ.

Stein has "dug in", and he is holding his ground.  During a recent interview on KUSI-TV News in San Diego, after describing the Article 134 charge, Stein explained that he had taken an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States.  "I never swore an oath to be loyal to the president of the United States," he said.

Contrary to what many outsiders might think, military members have not only a right, but also an "affirmative duty" to refuse any "unlawful orders".  This is a standard defense in the Manual for Courts-Martial (MCM).  Three weeks prior to Obama's inauguration, I explained this in detail in a column called "The Obama Oxymoron".  The scenario presented was that a USAF Security Policeman could legally deny Obama access to get aboard Air Force One*, because the SP would be protecting a command facility from an unlawful usurper.  (* The same would be true for a Marine guarding access to the Marine One helicopter.)  A flight surgeon in the Army, LTC Terry Lakin, used this legal argument to refuse an order to deploy to Afghanistan.  A military judge illegally ignored the MCM rules.  Lakin was sentenced to confinement at Fort Leavenworth and lost his Army career (just short of retirement).

When more of our active-duty troops realize that they might need to risk their individual careers for the good of the country, then Obama's regime will be in trouble.  Not every judge will break the law to protect Obama.  Not every commander will file a charge against a subordinate for doing what is right.  Sergeant Gary Stein is not alone in his views about Obama.

But, for now, his is a forward position.  He needs resupply and reinforcement, ASAP.

This is one more example of why every Constitution-supporting voter -- especially our military members and veterans -- should break the two-party logjam and help to elect America's Party presidential candidate Tom Hoefling.

Tom Kovach (rhymes with "watch") lives near Nashville, is a former USAF Blue Beret, and has written four books plus news reports and columns for several online publications. Tom is an inventor, a horse wrangler, a certified paralegal, and former network talk-radio host. He has also run for Congress, and is the national chairman of Veterans United to Save America (V-USA). To learn more about the author, click: www.TomKovach.US.